Buster Keaton: Free and Easy/ Estrellados Double Feature

It’s Buster’s talkie debut with a special “as you’ve never heard it before” bonus! Keaton’s first sound foray sees Buster skewering Hollywood itself with the tale of a wannabe starlet (Anita Page) that arrives in Tinseltown with some extra baggage – an overprotective mother (Trixie Friganza) and an even more overprotective gas station attendant (Keaton). A coterie of star cameos accompanies a costarring Robert Montgomery, who plays a “Latin lover,” no less! And speaking of Latin, as an added bonus, Free and Easy is now paired with its Spanish-language version Estrellados. Rarely seen since its initial overseas release, Estrellados is a prime example of the once customary practice of “parallel production” that helped Hollywood market their fare overseas during the silent-to-sound transition. It’s a full alternative version of the film, shot simultaneously with Free and Easy starring Buster and a Spanish-speaking cast. ¡Viva la Comedia!